The book collects eighteen modern fantasy tales and poems by various authors, with an overall introduction and notes by Carter. The pieces range in date from the 19th to 20th centuries. The collection is a companion volume to Carter's later New Worlds for Old (1971), which also collects modern fantasies.[1][2]
The book was reviewed by Tony Lewis in Locus no. 44, December 17, 1969, Paul Walker in Science Fiction Review, April 1970, Robert A. W. Lowndes in Bizarre Fantasy Tales no. 2, March 1971, Klaus Leicht (in Magira no. 31, 1978, and Helmut Pesch, also in Magira no. 31, 1978.[1]